Lachlan Morton completes Colorado Trail and raises over $12,000 for Sule Kangangi’s family

This article originally appeared on Velo News

Lachlan Morton set a new provisional fastest time for the 530-mile Colorado Trail, completing the epic effort at around 2:30am local time on Saturday.

In the process Morton raised over $12,000 for his late friend and professional cyclist Suleiman "Sule" Kangangi, who tragically died in August.

“Morton’s total time of 3 days 10 hours 15 minutes (unofficial) is the fastest recorded time on the venerable route, which traces the Colorado mountains for 530 miles and ascends 75,000 feet along the way,” EF Education-EasyPost confirmed on Saturday.

This was Morton’s second attempt at the Colorado Trail having completed the effort for the first time back in 2019.

For his second ride, Morton was not primarily aiming to break the previous record, but was instead concentrating on the experience and hoping to raise donations to help support Kangangi's family.

Kangangi crashed during the Vermont Overland gravel race in August and sadly died from his injuries. He was just 33 years old.

Kangangi was a member and the captain of Team Amani, a squad of off-road riders from Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. He and Morton raced together over the last few years and when news of Kangangi's death was publicized Morton posted a tribute on his Instagram account, stating: "Cycling lost one of its best yesterday. The world lost one of its best. I'm lost for words. We're all going to miss you."

Morton’s effort could be followed online throughout the ride with EF-Education also donating a bike in order to help drive financial donations for Kangangi's family. Donations will remain open until September 16.

If you want to support Sule's family but do not wish to or cannot participate in bike raffle, you are welcome to contribute to the GoFundMe.

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